DIGEST

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, July 6, 2006

ECONOMICS

Financial gap for blacks widens

NEW YORK - African-Americans' share of U.S. national income has slipped in recent years as a weak job market helped unwind earlier strides, according to a report published Wednesday.

A black family's median income was 62 percent of the earnings of their white counterparts, down from 63.5 percent in 2000, the Economic Policy Institute said.

"The racial gap widened by 2004 as a result of the recession and the jobless recovery that followed," said Jared Bernstein, economist at the Washington think tank.

AUTOMAKERS

GM directors to meet by phone

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said Wednesday its board of directors will meet by telephone Friday, a week after dissident shareholder Kirk Kerkorian disclosed his efforts to link the company with foreign competitors Renault and Nissan.

GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said the meeting was scheduled before Kerkorian proposed the three-way alliance, but she would not disclose the agenda.

Kerkorian, who owns 9.9 percent of GM, said he had approached Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan.

INSURANCE

Global warming worries insurer

Lloyd's of London has estimated there could be up to $100 billion in insured damages on the U.S. Gulf Coast as global warming spurs hurricanes, according to Lloyd's Chairman
Peter Levene
.

"It's an indisputable fact that global warming is having an impact," Levene said in a London conference. "We don't yet know what climate change will bring; uncertainty means greater risks, and we need to take action now to manage it. We need to better plan and prepare for catastrophe loss."

A record $66 billion in Gulf Coast damage resulted in 2005 from hurricanes, Levene said.

INVESTIGATIONS

Wachovia to pay $25 million in fines

Wachovia Corp. agreed to pay $25 million in fines to settle allegations it failed to prevent conflicts of interest between its research and investment-banking units.